Steel barge.



PATENTED NOV. 20, 1906.

A. L. HOFFMAN.

STEEL BARGE.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.'9. 1904.

2 SHEETSSHEBT 1.

INVENTOR WITNESSES THbF NORRIS PEYERS co., WASHINGTON, D. c,

PATENTED NOV. 20, 1906. A. L. HOFFMAN.

STEEL BARGB.

APPLICATION FILED AUG.9,1904.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

R 0 T N E V m m o m o fl o o m N a a o o o fl o o o m o m dm wrmesszzsrm: NORRIS PETERS cm, WASHINGTON, ma.

UNITED sTATEs PATENT OFFICE.

AR-THUR L. HOFFMAN, OF ALLEGHENY, PENNSYLVANIA, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-FOURTHTO OSCAR F. GRANT AND ONE-FOURTH TO JOHN G. MCDOWELL, OF PITTSBURG,PENNSYLVANIA.

STEEL BARGE.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 20, 1906.

Application filed August 9. 1904- Serial No. 220,083.

To all whom, it nasty concern:

Be it known that I, ARTHUR L. I'IOFFMAN, of Allegheny, Allegheny county,Pennsylvania, have invented a new and useful Steel Barge, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being hadto the accompanying drawings, forming part of this specification, inwhich Figure 1 is a side elevation of a steel barge constructed inaccordance with my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view. Fig. 3 is avertical cross-section, on a larger scale, on the line III III of Fig.2. Figs. 4 to 9 are detail views on a larger scale than the otherfigures, Fig. 4 being a vertical section on the line IV IV of Fig. 1,Fig. 5 an elevation of Fig. 4, Fig. 6 a vertical section of Fig. 1, andFig. 7 an elevation of Fig. 6. Fig. 8 is an elevation showing theconnecting-piece for the marginal stiffener Without the pulling-post.Fig. 9 is a sectional detail view showing the attachment of the T-ironwhich I preferably employ for the transverse stiffening members. Fig. 10is a vertical section of the end of the barge, and Fig. 1 1 is a similarView on the line XL XI of Fig. 10.

Barges such as are commonly employed for carrying coal and likemerchandise present problems of peculiar difficulty to the constructor.The nature of their cargo requires that their interior should not beobstructed by many braces, for the scoops which are employed forunloading must have free access to all parts of the interior. Theconsequence is that such barges are apt to be frail and unfit to standheavy strains. Attempts to make such barges of steelplates haveheretofore been unsatisfactory so far as I am aware, because thedifiiculties above pointed out have necessitated the employment of veryheavy metal, which has unduly increased their weight and cost.

It is the purpose of my invention to provide a construction which willenable such barges to be built of light material and will afford a bargeof great durability and strength which being of light weight will haveless draft than barges heretofore constructed.

The drawings illustrate the preferable form of my construction; but itwill be understood by those skilled in the art that it may be modifiedin various ways Without departure from the principle of my invention.

As shown in the drawings, the body of the barge is made of a series ofriveted metal plates 2 2, the ends 3 of the barge and the lateralcorners being curved, as shown, in order to secure great strength with aminimum amount of riveting and bracing. The plates may be riveted invarious ways. They may be abutted and riveted to connecting strips orpieces, or they may be lapped and thus riveted directly together. InFig. 3 I show the plates lapped at their joints, and inthe modifiedconstruction shown in Fig. 9 the ends of the plates are abutted and areriveted to the flanges of the T-irons.

The barge is stiffened by the employment of flanged stiffening members5, preferably T-irons, which extend transversely and preferably incontinuous pieces across the hull from one margin to the other, theirflanges being riveted to the plates 2 and the Web of the T proj ectinginwardly at right angles to the plates. These members are secured attheir ends to the marginal stiffening-bar 6 by but ting away the web attheir ends, bending the flanged portions around the bar 6, and securingit to the plates of the hull by riveting, as

shown in Figs. 3 and 41. The marginal-stiffening-bar 6 is preferably apipe which extends around the margin of the boat; but instead of a pipebars of other section may be employed. At intervals the hull is providedwith horizontal cross-braces 7 7, which are preferably pipes and extendfrom one margin of the hull to the other. They are secured to themarginal stiffening-bar 6, preferably by pipe T-couplings 8, Figs. 6, 7,and 8, presenting sockets 9 for the attachment'of the cross-braces 7.These T-couplings have preferably also integral flanges 10, by whichthey are riveted to the sides of the boat, and some of them, as shown inFigs. 6 and 7, are forged or cast with vertical pulling-posts 11,ghlilch are thus very rigidly applied to the u For the purpose ofstrengthening the ends of the barge I employ longitudinalstrengthening-bars 12, preferably T-irons, as above described, which areriveted to the hullplates, as shown in Fig. 2, being applied to themarginal stiffening bar or pipe 6 in the same manner as above describedWith reference to the T-irons 5.

I prefer to strengthen the hull also by applying to the bottom exteriorlongitudinal stiffening members 13, preferably T-irons, as

shown in Fig. 3.

I prefer also to strengthen the ends by employing inclined braces 14 andhorizontal plates 15.

The system of bracing described above imparts great stiffness to thehull, enabling it to resist the strains of pulling and of collisions towhich barges are subjected when in use, and this bracing while renderingthe hull stiff and durable does not unduly increase its Weight, whichcan be even less than in the wooden constructions heretofore employed.

Without limiting myself to the precise construction above described, Iclaim 1. A steel barge having a skeleton frame provided with a marginalstiffening-bar, cross-braces and transverse stiffening members, eachsecured individually directly to the marginal stiffening-bar, saidtransverse stiffening members following the contour of the hull andriveted to the plates, external flanged bottom members extendinglongitudinally and riveted to the bottom plates, and internal endstiffening members following the end contour secured in parallelism tothe end plates; substantially as described.

2. A steel barge having metal plates, a marginal stiffening-bar ofpipe-section, crossbraces, and T-couplings applied to the marginalstiffening-bar and to the braces; substantially as described.

3. A steel barge having metal plates, a marginal stiffening-bar ofpipe-section, crossbraces, and T-couplings applied to the marginalstiffening-bar and to the braces, and

also riveted to the plates; substantially as described.

4. A steel barge composed of metal plates and having a tubular marginalstifiem'ng-bar,

and pulling-posts secured directly to said marginal stiffening-bar;substantially as described.

5. A steel barge composed of metal plates, a tubular marginal stiffeningmember extending along the upper edge, and transverse stiffening memberssecured to said tubular marginal member; substantially as described.

6. A steel barge composed of metal plates and having a marginalstiffening-bar, and pulling-posts secured directly to said marginalstiffening-bar substantially as described.

7. A steel barge composed of metal plates having a tubular marginalstiffening member, and pulling-posts, each forming part of a T-couplingwith said tubular marginal member substantially as described.

8. A steel barge composed of metal plates having a tubular end marginalstiffening member, and longitudinal stiffening mem bers, each securedindividually to said end A. L. HOFFMAN.

substantially as Witnesses:

T. W. BAKEWELL, H. M. CoRWIN.

